JP6190686B2 - Filling apparatus and filling method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling apparatus and a filling method capable of filling product liquid into both a small-diameter container and a large-diameter container, and more specifically, to a plurality of container support mechanisms during a filling operation for a large-diameter container. The present invention relates to a filling apparatus and a filling method for performing filling operation by supplying every other large-diameter container.

  Conventionally, a device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as a filling device capable of filling both a small-diameter container and a large-diameter container. In this filling apparatus, an elevating table and a filling valve for supporting the container are provided along the circumference of the rotary table in accordance with the pitch of the small diameter container. Every other large-diameter container is supplied.

JP 61-244793 A

  In the conventional filling apparatus described above, when the number of filling valves is an even number, in the filling operation for the large-diameter container, the containers are not supplied to every other filling valve arranged along the circumferential direction. In this case, the product liquid stays. When the product liquid stays in this way, the temperature of the product liquid is lowered in hot pack filling in which the heated product liquid is filled, resulting in a problem of product failure. On the other hand, even if it is filled at room temperature, there is a possibility that the product liquid is deteriorated due to a long stay. Therefore, conventionally, before such a situation occurs, measures have been taken such as completely discharging the product liquid and replacing it with a new one, or cutting up production in a short time.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent the product liquid from deteriorating by eliminating the filling valve in which the product liquid stays for a long time, and to enable the production operation of the filling apparatus for a long time.

  A filling apparatus according to the present invention includes an even number of filling means arranged along the circumferential direction of a rotating body, a plurality of container support means provided corresponding to the filling means, and a container having the same pitch as the container support means. And a supply means for supplying the container to the container support means. In the filling process for the first container, the first container is supplied to all the container support means, and the diameter of the trunk portion is larger than that of the first container. In the filling process for the second container having a large size, the second container is supplied to every other plurality of container support means, and the container conveyance phase between the rotating body and the supply means is relatively set during the filling process. The second container is supplied to the container support means which has not been supplied so far among the plurality of container support means by adjusting the phase of the container support means shifted by one pitch.

  When the supply means is a supply wheel that supplies the container to the container support means of the rotary body, the filling device includes a rotary body drive motor that drives the rotary body, a supply wheel drive motor that drives the supply wheel, and a rotary body drive. Control means for controlling the motor and the supply wheel drive motor is provided, and the phase adjustment is to relatively shift the phases of the rotating body and the supply wheel.

  At least one supply wheel for supplying the container to the container support means of the rotating body, and the container connected to the supply wheel and engaged with the container transported on the transport conveyor to the container support portion of the supply wheel The infeed screw that feeds the feed wheel, the feed wheel drive motor that drives the feed wheel, the infeed screw drive motor that drives the infeed screw, the feed wheel drive motor, and the infeed screw drive motor. Control means for controlling, and the phase adjustment is to relatively shift the phases of the supply wheel and the infeed screw.

  The filling method according to the present invention includes an even number of filling means arranged along the circumferential direction of a rotating body, a plurality of container support means provided corresponding to the filling means, and a container having the same pitch as the container support means. And a supply means for supplying the container to the container support means. In the filling process for the first container, the first container is supplied to all the container support means, and the diameter of the trunk portion is larger than that of the first container. In the filling process with respect to the second container having a large size, in the filling method in which the second container is supplied to every other plurality of container support means, the rotating body and the supply means are disposed during the filling process with respect to the second container. A phase adjustment step of supplying the second container to the container support means that has not been supplied so far among the plurality of container support means by relatively shifting the container transport phase by one pitch of the container support portion. Features .

  According to the present invention, by eliminating the filling valve in which the product liquid stays for a long time, the product liquid is prevented from deteriorating and the filling apparatus can be operated for a long time.

It is a mimetic diagram showing a schematic structure of a filling system provided with a filling device which is a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the principal part of a rotary body and a supply wheel. It is a figure for demonstrating the filling process with respect to a 1st container. It is a figure which shows the state which supplies a container to the odd-numbered or even-numbered gripper in the filling process with respect to a 2nd container. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention and shows the state which supplies a container to the odd-numbered or even-numbered gripper in the filling process with respect to a 2nd container. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of this invention and shows the state which supplies a container to the odd-numbered or even-numbered gripper in the filling process with respect to a 2nd container.

The filling apparatus which is 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a filling system including a filling device 10. The filling device 10 is rotated clockwise in the figure, and during the rotation, the product liquid is filled in a container which is arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and transferred.

  The empty containers are continuously conveyed from the left side of the drawing by the supply conveyor 20, and are delivered to the rinser supply wheel 22 at a predetermined interval by the infeed screw 21. The rinser supply wheel 22 conveys and supplies the container to the rinser 23 while rotating, and the rinser 23 cleans the container while rotating clockwise and transfers it to the supply wheel (supply means) 24. The container is supplied from the supply wheel 24 to the filling device 10, and is transferred from the filling device 10 to the capper 26 by the discharge wheel 25 after the filling step. The container in which the cap is attached in the capper 26 is delivered to the discharge conveyor 28 by the capper discharge wheel 27 and discharged to the next process. These configurations and operations are the same as in the prior art.

  In the present embodiment, the filling device 10, the rinser supply wheel 22, the rinser 23, the supply wheel 24, the discharge wheel 25, the capper 26, and the capper discharge wheel 27 are rotationally driven by servomotors 31 to 37. The servo motors 31 to 37 are controlled by a control device (control means) 40 and can drive the filling device 10 and the like independently. In the filling process, the mechanisms of the filling device 10 and the like are driven in synchronization.

  As will be described later, in the filling operation with respect to the large-diameter container, half of the filling valves are used for filling in the filling device 10, but the servo motors 31 to 37 are controlled to switch the filling valves to be used. Specifically, the servomotor 31 is controlled in a state where the servomotors 32 to 37 are stopped, and the phase of the filling device 10 is adjusted relative to the supply wheel 24.

  The phase adjustment between the rotating body of the filling device 10 and the rinser supply wheel 22 is performed when the filling device 10 does not perform a filling operation. At this time, containers are arranged in each device from the rinser supply wheel 22 to the capper discharge wheel 27. Is not arranged. That is, before phase adjustment, it is necessary to discharge all containers from the filling system and stop the containers transferred from the supply conveyor 20. For this reason, a stopper 38 is provided between the supply conveyor 20 and the infeed screw 21. The stopper 38 is normally in the retracted position and does not interfere with the container, but protrudes before the phase adjustment and comes into contact with the top container to prevent the container from being supplied to the rinser supply wheel 22.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the filling device 10 has a cylindrical rotating body 11 that is rotatable around a central axis A, and a filling valve (filling means) 12 is fixed to the rotating body 11. An even number of filling valves 12 are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the rotating body 11. A gripper (container supporting means) 13 for holding the container C is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 11 and immediately below the filling valve 12. That is, an even number of grippers 13 are provided corresponding to the filling valves 12. A product liquid stored in a storage tank (not shown) is supplied to the filling valve 12 via a pipe 14, and when the container C is supported by the gripper 13 located immediately below, the product liquid is supplied to the container C. .

  The supply wheel 24 is rotatable around the central axis B, and a plurality of grippers (container support portions) 15 are fixed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction. The grippers 15 are arranged on the supply wheel 24 at the same pitch as the filling valve 12 and the grippers 13 as container support means.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the filling process with respect to the 1st container and the 2nd container whose diameter of a trunk | drum is larger than a 1st container is executable. The first container is, for example, a 500 ml PET bottle, and the second container is, for example, a 2000 ml PET bottle. 3 to 5, black circles indicate that a container exists, and white circles indicate that a container does not exist. Further, the numerals 1 to 12 are numbers given to the gripper 13 provided on the rotating body 11 for explaining the operation. That is, in this example, twelve filling valves 12 and grippers 13 are provided along the periphery of the rotating body 11.

  FIG. 3 shows a filling process for the first container, that is, the small diameter container. In this filling step, the containers are sequentially supplied to all the grippers 13. In the state shown in the figure, the first gripper 13 of the rotating body 11 supports the container, and the second gripper 13 does not support the container, and is in a state immediately before the next container is supplied. The third gripper 13 is in a state of delivering the container to the discharge wheel 25, and the fourth to twelfth grippers 13 support the container and are in the filling process.

  FIG. 4 shows a filling process for the second container, that is, the large diameter container. When switching from the first container to the second container, the rotational speed of the infeed screw 21 is reduced to ½. As a result, the number of containers supplied from the infeed screw 21 to the rinser supply wheel 22 per unit time is halved, and every other container is supplied to the gripper 13 of the rotating body 11. In the example of FIG. 4A, the container is supplied to the odd-numbered grippers 13 and the container is not supplied to the even-numbered grippers 13. That is, only the filling valve 12 corresponding to the odd number of grippers 13 fills the container with the product liquid.

  If the filling operation by the odd-numbered filling valve 12 continues for a long time, the product liquid staying in the even-numbered filling valve 12 and the corresponding pipe 14 may be deteriorated. Therefore, in this embodiment, before such a concern occurs, for example, when the filling operation by the odd-numbered filling valve 12 has elapsed for 8 hours, the even-numbered filling is performed by adjusting the phase between the rotating body 11 and the supply wheel 24. The filling operation by the valve 12 is switched.

  In this phase adjustment, first, the stopper 38 is moved forward to stop the containers transferred by the supply conveyor 20, and the servo motors 31 to 37 are continuously driven from the rinser supply wheel 22 to the capper discharge wheel 27. All the second containers present in the are discharged from the filling system. After this discharge process is completed, only the servo motor 31 of the rotating body 11 is driven, and the rotating body 11 is shifted by one pitch of the gripper 13, that is, rotated and displaced by a distance between two adjacent grippers 13.

  When the phase adjustment is completed, the stopper 38 is retracted and the operation of all devices from the infeed screw 21 to the capper discharge wheel 27 is resumed. As a result, the container conveyance phase is shifted by one pitch, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the second container is supplied to the even-numbered grippers 13 to which the container has not been supplied, and the even-numbered A filling operation by the filling valve 12 is executed. Thereafter, the filling valves 12 used for the filling operation may be switched alternately as necessary.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the filling process for the second container, which is a large-diameter container, the filling operation using only the odd-numbered filling valve from the predetermined position continues for a predetermined time, and then the even-numbered filling from the predetermined position. The operation of switching to the filling operation by the valve can be performed easily and in a short time. Further, since there is no filling valve in which the product liquid stays for a long time, the product liquid is not deteriorated, and the filling device can be produced and operated for a long time.

  In phase adjustment, the phases of the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 are relatively shifted, and at least a servo motor (supply wheel driving motor) 34 for driving the supply wheel 24 and a servo motor (rotation) for driving the rotating body 11. The body drive motor 31 may be controlled, and various modifications are possible. In the first embodiment, the rotating body 11 is driven and the supply wheel 24 is stopped. Conversely, the phase adjustment can be performed by driving the supply wheel 24 and stopping the rotating body 11. . It is also possible to adjust the phase based on the rotational speed difference while rotating the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 together.

  FIG. 5 shows a filling process for the second container in the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the container is supplied from the infeed screw 21 to the rotating body 11 via the supply wheel 24 and transferred to the next step by the discharge wheel 25. The container supply means in this embodiment is the infeed screw 21 and the supply wheel 24. In the phase adjustment, the phase of the infeed screw 21 is adjusted while keeping the phases of the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 constant. 24 and the rotating body 11 are shifted relative to each other. That is, the phase adjustment is performed by a servo motor (infeed screw drive motor) that drives the infeed screw 21, a servomotor (supply wheel drive motor) that drives the supply wheel 24, and a servomotor (rotary body drive motor) that drives the rotating body 11. Various modifications can be made.

  In the first example, the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 are stopped, and the infeed screw 21 is rotated. In the second example, the infeed screw 21 is stopped and the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 are rotated. As a third example, it is also possible to perform phase adjustment while rotating all of the infeed screw 21, the supply wheel 24, and the rotating body 11. By such phase adjustment, the filling operation by the odd-numbered filling valve in the filling device as shown in FIG. 5 (a) can be switched to the filling operation by the even-numbered filling valve as shown in FIG. 5 (b). it can.

  FIG. 6 shows a filling process for the second container in the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the container is supplied from the plurality of intermediate wheels 51 to the rotating body 11 via the supply wheel 24 and transferred to the next step by the discharge wheel 25. The container supply means in this embodiment is a plurality of intermediate wheels 51 and a supply wheel 24, and the phase adjustment is performed in a state where the phases of the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 are kept constant while the phase of the intermediate wheel 51 is supplied. 24 and the rotating body 11 are shifted relative to each other. That is, the phase adjustment may be performed by controlling the servo motor that drives the intermediate wheel 51, the servo motor that drives the supply wheel 24 (supply wheel drive motor), and the servo motor that drives the rotating body 11 (rotating body drive motor). Variations are possible.

  In the first example, the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 are stopped and the intermediate wheel 51 is rotated. In the second example, the intermediate wheel 51 is stopped and the supply wheel 24 and the rotating body 11 are rotated. As a third example, it is also possible to perform phase adjustment while rotating all of the intermediate wheel 51, the supply wheel 24, and the rotating body 11. By such phase adjustment, the filling operation by the odd-numbered filling valve in the filling device as shown in FIG. 6 (a) can be switched to the filling operation by the even-numbered filling valve as shown in FIG. 6 (b). it can.

  The phase adjustment is not limited to shifting by one pitch of the gripper 13. By shifting the odd number of pitches, the container transport pitch is shifted by one pitch, and may be three or five pitches.

11 Rotating body 12 Filling valve (filling means)
13 Gripper (container support means)
15 Gripper (container support)
24 Supply wheel (supply means)
C container

Claims (4)

Filling means arranged in an even number along the circumferential direction of the rotating body;
A plurality of container support means provided corresponding to the filling means;
A container support section having the same pitch as the container support means, and a supply means for supplying a container to the container support means
In the filling step for the first container, the first container is supplied to all the container support means,
In the filling process for the second container having a body diameter larger than that of the first container, the second container is supplied to the plurality of container support means every other container, and the rotation is performed during the filling process. By performing phase adjustment that relatively shifts the container conveyance phase between the body and the supply means by one pitch of the container support means, among the plurality of container support means, the container support means that has not been supplied so far A filling device for supplying the second container. The supply means is a supply wheel for supplying a container to the container support means of the rotating body;
A rotating body drive motor for driving the rotating body;
A supply wheel drive motor for driving the supply wheel;
Control means for controlling the rotating body drive motor and the supply wheel drive motor,
The filling device according to claim 1, wherein the phase adjustment relatively shifts the phases of the rotating body and the supply wheel. The supply means is at least one supply wheel that supplies the container to the container support means of the rotating body, and is connected to the supply wheel and engages with a container that is conveyed on a conveyance conveyor to support the container of the supply wheel. An infeed screw for supplying the container to the section,
A supply wheel drive motor for driving the supply wheel;
An infeed screw drive motor for driving the infeed screw;
Control means for controlling the supply wheel drive motor and the infeed screw drive motor,
The filling device according to claim 1, wherein the phase adjustment relatively shifts the phases of the supply wheel and the infeed screw. Filling means arranged in an even number along the circumferential direction of the rotating body;
A plurality of container support means provided corresponding to the filling means;
A container support section having the same pitch as the container support means, and a supply means for supplying a container to the container support means
In the filling step for the first container, the first container is supplied to all the container support means,
In the filling step for the second container having a body diameter larger than that of the first container, in the filling method of supplying the second container to the plurality of container support means every other one,
In the middle of the filling process for the second container, the container transport phase between the rotating body and the supply means is relatively shifted by one pitch of the container support portion, so that among the plurality of container support means, A filling method comprising: a phase adjustment step of supplying the second container to the container support means that has not been supplied.

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